Gravity Rises
by OLHV
Summary: Two twins, their powers electrifying. Amabilis the Saint, patron of the unlocked. Abel, the shepherd of a flock - and through his offerings, he shall surely die. Implied Wendip/Eventual Dipifica. Continuation to Gravity Falls - Part 2 of the series. Update every Saturday. R&R
**(A/N) I have not written a single work of fanfiction in over six years, but I must admit that this show captured me in a way that I haven't felt captured in a very, very long time.
I've already planned out the entire span of this story and its sequel – it won't be an easy or quick task, but with enough patience and feedback, it's a task I'm more than willing to take seriously.  
I've been wanting to write something for enjoyment purposes, anyway.  
This story, in its entirety, will be beta read by Loutzy, as I am beta reading her fanfic, Boathouse.  
This is not A/U. This is a direct sequel to Disney and Alex Hirsch's Gravity Falls, which I do not own.  
And like Gravity Falls, there will be ciphers at the end of each chapter; some revealing clues to the story, others being solely for comedic purposes; some being easy, others being a bit more difficult – and they are entirely up to you to solve.  
I intend to update every Saturday.**

 **Enjoy.**

It had taken approximately five hours and thirty-eight minutes to get to that exact moment. The first three hours were filled with squeals of excitement and never ending suggestions as to how they were going to spend their summer from his overzealous seventeen-year-old twin sister, Mabel, though she had long since passed out. At the age of fifteen he couldn't've ever imagined this moment, being able to say that he had just witnessed the "Welcome to Gravity Falls!" sign pass through the window; he couldn't've even contemplated seeing his great uncles ever again.

But there he was, about fifteen minutes from their destination, and all he could feel was the heavy burden of a summers' past as he put his dying cellphone back into his pocket, surely to retrieve it at another point later.

That one summer was something out of a fairytale to him, though not the "happy ending" type of fairytales he had been accustomed to as a mere child. The more he tried to forget about it the more it seemed to reside in his subconscious; his dreams occasionally playing slight homage to the experiences he had most desperately tried to forget. It wasn't like he had lost interest in the paranormal, not one bit. In fact, horror movies and survival video games had become something of a niche to him. The unexplained was still as much as a pleasure to him as it had always been.

It's just that after actually _being_ there, after actually _seeing_ everything that he saw, he couldn't just turn off his thoughts on the matter. He couldn't just put them aside to focus on more important things like school or relationships or anything of normal progression. No later than a month after arriving back in Piedmont that one summer, he had been admitted into therapy at the general hospital in order to at least get his sleeping patterns back on track. His parents figured that something had taken its toll on the boy during he and his sister's stay with their great uncle in Gravity Falls.

It was then that he and his sister unsurprisingly adapted a _never mind all that_ routine of their very own in order to protect not one, as their parents assumed, but both of their great uncles' names, and, arguably even more important to each of the parties involved, to ensure that they'd one day be allowed back to Gravity Falls, which was a dream that their parents hadn't been all too keen on. It was only after graduation that they had finally given in to letting them reunite with their great uncles.

Two years of bi-weekly therapy sessions in and he had learnt to just _not think about it,_ he had pushed everything that had happened that one summer so far into the metaphoric vault in his brain that he had all but forgotten about it. It had almost been five years, so much had happened in that time that it wasn't necessarily all that hard to let it all slip into the back of his mind. Sure, there were the dreams every now and then. The nightmares involving a certain one-eyed demon and his lackeys, or shapeshifting entities which looked like something out of a Brothers Grimm tale. Every time he would have those types of apocalyptic nightmares, though, he would simply ask Mabel if he were crazy, to which she would always happily assure him that everything really _did_ happen.

He looked over at his sister, who had been sleeping soundly, undisturbed by the occasional bump or jerk in the road, and blaming it on the nostalgia of the situation, he momentarily remembered her twelve-year-old, sweater-crazed self. Since then she had grown out of her colorful sweaters and had moved onto dresses that were just as passionate. Though she had a clip phase back in tenth grade, she had remained faithful to her headbands and long, unkempt hair. She had a boyfriend a year prior, after having her braces removed, but that had only lasted about a month.

In her resting arms laid the scrapbook she had put together the last time the twins had visited. They had been going through all of the pictures thoroughly and though he was still anxious about going back for the summer, he did have to admit that the pictures only made him more eager to face it all again. The adventures they had were like none other, and while they were looking at all of the macaroni crafts and photographs, the familiar, smiling faces of his uncles, Wendy and Soos momentarily made him feel like he was returning home rather than going on vacation. Not only that - the photographs only further proved that that one summer had actually happened.

He hadn't dreamt it all up.

The bus swerved a bit and the voice of the driver could be heard muttering something about "pesky squirrels"; the motion had caused the boy's bag to topple over from where it had been nestled, undisturbed for the entirety of the trip. Upon noticing, he reached over Mabel to pick it back up and stuffed the hat that his friend Wendy had given him back into its rightful place. The thought of his redheaded friend caused his cheeks to heat up momentarily but he dismissed it as trivial. It had been far too long since he had spoken to her; the last words exchanged between the two had been right before he boarded the bus back to Piedmont that one summer.

He quickly sifted through his backpack to make sure nothing else had fallen out and possibly rolled under their seats. Of all the belongings he had brought with him for the trip, there was only one set of items he wished that he still had access to, one set of items that would put his thoughts to rest about that one summer that he hadn't once forgotten about while at the same time doubted with all of his being.

The journals.

He regretted the decision of not reading them in their entirety before they were...

A loud ringing noise sounded throughout the bus, indicating it nearing its final stop. It pulled the boy out of his thoughts, and as it did he quickly noticed the town coming into view out of his window. There was a moment where his breath caught in his throat as he viewed the small Oregon town for the first time in practically five years. He felt his heart's pace quicken at the uncanny sensation of adrenaline and pure excitement.

"Mabel, wake up, we're here," He quickly said as he shook his sleeping sister beside him. For a moment she grumbled an unintelligible sound and rubbed her eyes, but within a matter of seconds she was practically climbing on top of her brother in order to obtain a better view of their surroundings.

She let out an excited squeal as the bus passed the town's police department; she unmistakably recognized Sherriff Blubs walking into the station.

"Oh my gosh, Dipper," she wistfully sighed, "I can't believe we're finally back."

Dipper continued to stare out the window as he smiled in response to his sister. He would've directly addressed her but he couldn't quite pull his attention away from the oddly familiar scenery that they were passing.

"Do you think a lot has changed since we've been gone?" He timidly asked, unsure of which answer he particularly favored. He hoped everybody was the same, he hoped they could all just pick up where they had left off, but he was unsure as to whether or not he was able to deal with all of the _other stuff_ that came with the small town just yet.

"Nah," Mable dismissed as the bus crept past Skull Fracture tavern, the same bouncer standing outside as he had been all those years prior, "it's a small town, bro-bro. Nothing ever changes in small towns."

Dipper couldn't argue against the elder twin's logic; a town as small as Gravity Falls lacked quite a few of the commodities basic city living provided. For one thing, Gravity Falls' population only barely topped seven hundred, whereas Piedmont's exceeded eleven thousand. The people who had lived in Gravity Falls were generally there for their entire lives, more often times than not bringing multiple generations into the town's population after them.

The bus pulled onto Main Street and the twins were instantly able to recognize the small party of three who had come to greet them. Upon seeing both of the smiling faces of his great uncles, Dipper instantly felt his heart quicken. He briefly wondered if it were a good idea for him to accompany his twin sister on this trip; but as rapidly as the thought process came on, he managed to dismiss it all. Of course it had been a good idea; he had come to love both of his uncles that one summer, each in their own respective ways. He did have to admit, he found that he favored his uncle Ford over Stan, if only for the similar interests; he still respected his uncle Stan for what he had gone through in his youth just as much as he had come to respect Stan's more intellectual twin.

He decided not to beat himself up much for feeling the way he did; it was completely normal for him to feel a little bit nervous when reuniting with the people who had aided him in ending an apocalypse, he figured. Besides, the thrilled look on Soos' face as he spotted the twins through the window did nothing but quell his nerves.

Mabel sensed her brother tense up at the sight of their uncles; she was sitting next to him, and deciphering how her brother felt was something she could admittedly do from a mile away (something she liked to refer to as _twin ESP_.)

"Dip-dop," she sang after hoisting her backpack over her shoulder and standing up, putting a supportive hand on her brother's back. He had always been quiet, especially after the last time they had come down to Gravity Falls, but she knew exactly how to bring her brother out of his mopey episodes. She opened up her scrapbook and quickly flipped to a photograph of a twelve year-old set of twins smiling into the camera with Wendy and Soos, "Aren't you excited? This summer's gonna be more fun than any summer we've had in boring old California."

Dipper smiled up at his sister and got out of his seat to strap his bag on, too. "I know you're right, Mabel."

They started making their way to the door of the bus; they could already smell the fresh mountainous air seeping through the passageway. Dipper took one last look at his seat and inhaled a final, deep breath before they would venture back into Gravity Falls.

"Mabel?" Dipper reticently started, unwilling to allow his insecurities get the best of him for the remainder of their trip, "…You sure I didn't dream everything up?"

Mabel stopped walking to take a glance at her brother. He was looking at her with a certain enthusiasm that she hadn't seen since the last time they had visited, a certain expression that read _I'm skeptical but I want to do anything in my power to believe it._ She smiled and ruffled the younger twin's brunette mop of a haircut.

"Oh, Dip-dop," she giggled before taking her brother's hand and leading them off of the bus.

-x-

The short, twenty-minute-or-so car ride back to the Mystery Shack was filled with stories and laughter, if not a little cramped with Soos sharing the back seat with the twins. Everybody had their part in catching up, retelling tales of adventures on the sea, managing the Shack, or in the twins' case, getting through high school. By the time they pulled into the various weed-covered driveway of the rebuilt tourist trap, it had only felt like a five-minute trip.

"I'll tell ya, though," Stan started before putting the car in park and throwing his door open, "Since you guys left, it hasn't felt the same around here, right, sixer?"

The remaining passengers had already gotten out of the vehicle, Ford habitually busy patting off his coat (obviously perplexed with the insanitary state that his brother decided to keep his car) when Stan regarded him by his nickname, "I have to say, it does feel like it's been a lifetime."

The scholarly old man walked over to the younger twins who were unloading their bags from the trunk; now that he had more than a fleeting moment to actually observe his grandniece and nephew, it had become quite evident how much they had grown, "My, how you two have come to be quite the charming pair of young adults," he regarded, giving Dipper a firm handshake once the boy had managed to get his backpack onto his shoulders.

"It's been too long, boy," Ford inflexibly stated, looking his grandnephew hard in the eyes and giving off a warm smile, "Let's make a lasting impression this summer so that you guys don't have to wait another five years, huh?"

Dipper smiled fondly at his great uncle; he not only had been a figure of authority the last time he and his sister had visited, but also a man of profession, an instructive role model that he had not only learnt from, but aspired to be like.

Not to mention the fact that the very six fingered hand that was cupping his own had been the very hand to so dexterously write all three of the journals, the same set of journals which kicked off the most amazing summer he had experienced to date.

A handshake from such a man wasn't something to take very lightly, and he had to suppress all urges to squeal in a fashion that, under normal circumstances, only his hyperactive sister could master.

He nodded at his uncle, "I've missed this place," was all he could get out before his aforementioned sister assaulted Ford in a jump-hug from behind, giggling maniacally.

"Awe, grunkle Ford, you called us _charming,_ " she laughed out as he momentarily struggled to regain his balance. Once he was able to he chuckled along with his grandniece, glad to finally have a change of pace around the Shack; even he had been growing fatigued of the tiresome repetitiveness of it all. Mabel slackened her grip on her grunkle's neck, deciding that he had suffered quite enough of her attack hugs for one day. She slid off of her uncle and landed gracefully beside her brother, flashing a pearly-white, brace free smile.

"Well, I have to get running to the lab. I've been working on something," Ford explained while he ruffled Mable's hair, "We'll chat more later over dinner; I'd love to stay and catch up but I've no time to waste. Dipper, Mable," was all that they got before he excused himself rather quickly back into the Shack.

"Jeez, you'd think the guy just took laxatives," Stan muttered as he threw his car door shut and manually locked it, "You guys are here for all of two minutes and he's already scurrying back to his lab."

"No harm done, we have all summer to catch up," Mabel happily sang out, prancing over to her other uncle's side and putting an arm around his waist, "now let's get you back inside before you pull a muscle, _old man_."

Stan bellowed out in laughter and swung his arm around his niece's shoulders before letting her lead the way back into the Shack. He genuinely appreciated her sense of humor and liked to pride himself on possibly having a part in crafting it. "Trust me kid, I may be old but I've got quite a bit of fight left in me."

Dipper hadn't moved since his interaction with Ford, and he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that their reunion was cut so short. He watched as his sister walked his uncle back inside and sighed, realizing that bringing all of their bags in, yet again, was up to him.

"You alright, dude?" Soos questioned as he hoisted as many of their bags up as he could and shuffled over to Dipper. There was a muffled sound of a cheer as Mable and Stan eventually made their way through the doors of the Shack, spoiling the confidently hidden welcoming party to the boy. He couldn't help but smile at the sight regardless of his previous feelings of disappointment, as that very moment felt strangely relaxing to him.

"Yeah," Dipper began, smiling up at his odd-bodied companion, "It's just been a while since I've seen you guys. It felt really short lived before Ford went back to the basement."

"Well, he has been cooped up in there working on something for the last few days," Soos stated, empathizing with his younger friend, "The times that he has come out, he's been pretty excited about you guys coming, so I wouldn't worry about it, dude."

Dipper nodded, realizing that he had probably just been over analyzing the situation as he often did. It wasn't every day that they saw each other, sure, but there were still everyday tasks that needed to be completed – whether they be taking out the trash or, in Ford's case, potentially dangerous laboratory experiments.

"Thanks, Soos," Dipper nodded in appreciation.

"No problem, dude," Soos started before clearing his throat and handing the car keys to Dipper, "I've gotta get back inside – Melody and Abuelita were going to set up the barbecue and I've got to bring these bags in. There's a couple more of your guys' bags in the trunk, lock it up for me, alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be right in," Dipper replied as he turned around and walked back to the trunk. He was pleased to realize that there were only two of their own suitcases and a single white bag of groceries left for him to take in. Some of the groceries had toppled over and rolled out of the bag, haphazardly scattered around. As he gathered the various cans of beans and tuna, he made sure to really smell the forest air in order to ingrain this moment. It was real. He pinched himself just to make sure.

He really was back in Gravity Falls, Oregon.

He pulled the bags out and let them drop to the floor before looking around to see if the coast was clear. Upon deducting that he was alone, he started running around the small lot outside of the shack in excitement, adding a few happy leaps into the mix for good measure. He laughed out as he felt the sun's rays hit his face while he pranced about. He heard multiple voices coming from inside the Shack, some of them he recognized, others not so well, and If any one of the owners to those voices had been fortunate enough to stumble outside at that moment, they'd probably think he had gone bonkers. But that didn't matter to him.

He was finally out of boring old California.

He was finally back in Gravity Falls.

He stopped spinning and let himself fall back onto the grass, looking up into the sunny sky through the canopy of leaves overhead. He had waited years for this moment. Of course, all of the anxieties he had toward this place weren't exactly patched up, but he was there, where it all happened. They had left this place as _technical teenagers._ They left their childhood there. Being back, he couldn't help but feel close to that again.

He turned his head to look over at the Shack, quietly reminiscing the first time he and his sister had arrived there – the totem out front had actually been the first aesthetic about the rickety old place to catch his attention. His eyes trailed over to the base of the totem, an image that had shown up so many times in his dreams yet staring at it at that moment felt like the first time in his entire life. He took in every detail, every carving and every face in the statue, forever locking every intricacy into his long term memory, as his eyes made their way to its peak.

There was something on top of the totem, its form blurred in the bright sunlight. Dipper had to squint his eyes, and when that failed to work, he put his arm over his face to obstruct some of the light in order to see whatever it was that was on top of the totem. And that's when he saw it.

An owl.

It was a white barn owl, he wouldn't call it very big in relation to the circumference of the wooden pole it was seated on, but it was just perched there, staring at him with its black, ambiguous eyes. Dipper rose to his feet quickly as he noticed the owl; moving left and right only caused the owl's gaze to follow him. The longer he stared at it, the more obscure its black eyes looked against its pale features. Before long, Dipper decided to retreat back to the car, concluding that he had more important matters to deal with than being freaked out by some owl. He quickly locked the trunk and picked up the bags, making a b-line for the front door of the Shack, not breaking eye contact with the owl until his feet were walking up the whining steps of the porch.

By the time he finally made it through the heavy door to the Shack, it had become apparent to him that there was a mess of little, colorful pieces of paper confetti scattered all over the floor. As he opened the door some of the pieces flowed indifferently with the sudden change of pressure, following the air current out the door frame and into the breeze. He stepped into the house after giving the stray bits of confetti some space to get through the door; a simple beauty that he wouldn't have taken into account while surrounded by the mentally demanding lifestyle of the city.

"There he is!" He heard his sister squeal in a previously theorized inhuman octave, "Bro-bro, what took you so long?"

Dipper looked for his sister and spotted her standing in the corridor to the living room with Grenda and Candy. Deciding that he'd deal with their luggage later, he dropped the bags beside the door and started making his way over. He saw Soos sitting at the cash register on the way over but he seemed busy with something so it was decided to leave him be.

"Dipper, wow, you look different," Grenda stated as Dipper closed the gap between he and Mabel's group, walking past them and through the corridor to the living room, which hadn't changed much, barring the addition of a couch. As he stepped into the room, the scent of the old place overtook him and before he knew it, he was being taken on a stroll through pleasant nostalgia. He turned back towards them and smiled widely at his sister.

"Small towns, huh?" He chuckled at her, referring to what she had said to him earlier. It took her a moment to remember, but when she did, she giggled along with him before he finally regarded the confused expressions of the other two individuals present, "Sorry Grenda, Candy. How have you two been?"

"We've been good," Grenda began, deciding not to put any thought into the twins' previous inside joke, "Candy got accepted into Yale for molecular biology, so she'll be leaving at the end of the summer. I'm staying here and just taking open courses at the community college."

"Yale?" Dipper began, turning his attention toward the shortest of the three girls. The mention of the prestigious Connecticut university perked his interests; it had been one of the universities he considered before he and Mabel had realized that they had procrastinated past the final application dates, "That's incredible, Candy. Congratulations."

Grenda put her hand on her best friend's back in an act of showing pride towards her achievements. Though Candy had been accepted into a much more admired school than she had, she could only be supportive of her friend's decisions and blessings. She had worked rather hard to earn that acceptance letter, and though she would be losing her friend for the majority of the school year for the next handful of years to come, she could only wish for success for her acquaintance.

"T-thanks," Candy squeaked out; conversing with boys had never been one of her talents, and though she had grown to be much more comfortable around Dipper on the twins' previous visit, it had been quite some time since then. Dipper smiled at her in response. He never minded Candy, the way she was so awkward all the time only further cemented his own confidence in being awkward himself; feeling like he related with her had been the reason he had felt more comfortable around her than Grenda the first time around.

"Is that Dipper?" croaked an older, female voice as Melody and Soos' Abuelita walked into the living room from the kitchen. The older woman strolled directly to Dipper and quickly pecked him on either cheek, a custom, he learnt, that people of Soos' heritage practiced with individuals they considered family, which he did the same in return, "where were you when we covered Mable and Stan in confetti?"

"Soos got me to help him with some of the bags," Dipper replied, trying to sound as pleasant as he could for the frail, old lady.

"Of course he did, you've grown so much, it's good to put those muscles to some use."

Dipper looked down at himself, he had been wearing a pair of jeans and his usual tee-and-vest combination, though his arms looked to him as lanky and noodle-like as they had always been. Still, he laughed and smiled at the compliment in respect.

"Thanks, Abuelita. So, Soos said something about a barbecue?" Dipper questioned, for the first time that day really considering the concept of eating. As if on cue, his stomach began to growl - it had been about six hours since he last consumed anything of substance, after all.

"Dinner should be here in about half hour, we looked just about everywhere but couldn't find any propane for the barbecue, so we gave up and ordered pizza," Melody finally spoke up, flashing a sheepish grin at the group as a whole.

"That's okay, pizza's never a bad second choice!" Mabel offered, trying to be supportive of the pair's minor failure. The group agreed in unison, all sharing an equal love for the flat dish.

"Speaking of Soos though, he was filling out some restock forms so I was going to go check on him, want to come with me, Dipper?" Melody asked as the others began small conversations of their own. Dipper looked over at Mable one last time, who was in discussion with her friends, before deciding that his presence was no longer needed in the living room. He nodded at Melody and followed her lead.

By the time the cash register came into view, Dipper only had a few moments to register the frenzied, red hair of his former best friend from behind the desk before she basically kicked it over, flying across the room and dodging all obstacles in her way to make it over to him. He barely had a chance to react, only being able to mutter out a quick "Hey, Wen-" before he was thrown to the ground, 130 pounds of one-hundred-and-ten-percent pure Corduroy crushing him in the most desperate hug he had ever been part of.

"Dude, the note said _see you next summer._ Not _see you in five years,_ " She mumbled into his chest, her words barely audible to anybody standing outside a two-foot radius, "You're _huge."_ She beamed up at him before pulling herself up off of him. She offered him a hand before pulling him up, too.

She was still taller than him.

"Wendy, you're still taller than me," Dipper deadpanned while he tried his hardest to wipe the blush off of his face. When he realized that it was a futile cause, he pulled her into a _real_ hug in an attempt to hide it.

"Only by like, an inch, dude. Give it another year or two and trust me, you're gonna be the taller one." She laughed into the hug, a sense of pride coming over her for somehow still managing to keep some height on her growth-spurting friend, "I really missed you though, man."

Guilt would be the easiest way to describe his feelings toward the situation. Sure, it would've been easy to pin the whole "haven't been around for five years" thing on his parents not allowing he or his sister to visit had he at least tried to contact her. And it's not like he _couldn't_ have found a way through social media or _something_ to interact with her. He just wasn't ready to face everybody and everything that had happened in that particular small town at the time, but he wasn't going to spend his time trying to justify his actions.

It probably hurt a bit that he just disappeared like that.

Dipper pulled away from the hug and looked at the floor; he couldn't really bear the thought of looking at her at that moment. He sighed and mumbled, "Sorry, Wendy."

"Will ya stop looking at the ground for a sec?" Wendy replied as she put her hand on his shoulder; when he did look up, he was greeted by the most fantastically forgiving smile he had ever seen, "I'm just glad you're here, dude."

"I'm glad to be here, man," Dipper chuckled, lightly punching his friend's shoulder. They shared a moment of laughter together; the mild awkward air of the previous conversation seemingly dissipating within a mere moment. He was glad that they were able to speak through _most_ things. It finally felt like things could possibly be the way they had been that one summer.

"Oh _yeah_ , I've got something for you," Wendy started, turning on her heel and walking toward the cash register. Dipper took his cue and followed suit, curiosity practically oozing at his seems. Soos and Melody had been talking quietly amongst themselves behind the counter during Wendy and Dipper's moment – neither of them wanting to invade either of the aforementioned young adults' private reunion. Wendy hopped behind the counter and ducked down before peeking back up at Dipper.

"Close your eyes." She ordered. Dipper eyed her curiously and mustered up as defiant of an expression as he could.

"Why?" He argued.

"Just do it," She groaned, feigning annoyance. Dipper chuckled and closed his eyes, putting his palms up in front of him for her to easily place his _welcome home_ gift.

When he felt nothing on his palms after a few moments, he raised his eyebrow to question his redheaded friend. Immediately upon doing that, though, he felt something be placed on his head. A hat, in particular. He opened his eyes and met Wendy's regard; a bewildering manifestation of comfort. It seemed to him as if the expression she had been giving him were something to be saved for a bigger moment in life.

"Lookin' good, kid," Wendy smiled, flicking up the beak of the hat, "I'm surprised it still fits."

Dipper reached for the hat and pulled it down to examine it. It was the same blue pine tree hat that his uncle Stan had given him the first day he and his sister arrived in Gravity Falls that one summer. It had seen its own adventures, though, admittedly, had also spent more of its time with the girl who had given it to him, as evidenced by a collection of faded stains which he had not remembered seeing before; though in his views, only gave the antique even more personality.

"Wendy, I," Dipper began; as clear as his thoughts were on the topic, he lacked the experience to be able to express them in words, "I don't even know what to say. I have your hat, too. It's in my bag-"

"Well, as long as you're here, it belongs right there," Wendy laughed, cutting her friend's spiel short, taking the hat from his hands and placing it right back onto his head, "And _my_ hat? Don't even worry about that old thing. It was practically falling apart when I gave it to you, and-"

Her train of thought was interrupted by the whooshing sound of the vending machine opening, a six fingered hand appearing, pushing it slightly ajar before unsurprisingly revealing itself to be none other than that of Stanford Pines'.

"Wendy, I'm sorry to intrude, but… may I borrow Dipper for a moment?"

-x-

As his uncle paced around the hardwood floor of his private study, Dipper couldn't help but feel scrutinized under the blank frames that had once bore the image of the demon that had terrorized his family for an entire summer. He couldn't possibly imagine how unbearable his anxiety would've been if the images were still there – he felt obligated to follow his idol but upon walking through the doorway he hesitated for a moment.

But nearly twenty minutes had passed since they had entered the room, and his uncle had said nothing further than ushering for him to take a seat when they had first arrived. Dipper had begun to grow nervous, feeling beads of sweat begin to form above his brow.

For his uncle to be this perplexed, the situation couldn't've been good.

Dipper's mind started going over the potential risks. Maybe there was another demon to deal with, or maybe there was another portal. Or, quite possibly, Ford needed his help with a voyage across the Pacific in the Stan O' War II. All of these possibilities seemed so endearing, so pleasurable, so _possible_ there in Gravity Falls, however, following through with them practically screamed _returning to therapy_ for him.

Ford pulled a chair up not even two feet away from his great nephew and sat on it with the back of the chair separating his two legs. Then he proceeded to just stare at Dipper, causing the boys' anxieties to overflow. He could feel the sweat start to drip from its perch on his forehead; yet he wouldn't break eye contact with his uncle – he had spent enough time around dream demons to rationalize why eye gazing was such an important task in that town.

Without warning, Ford let out a long, tired sigh before letting his head drop between his hands, "Thirty years I was in that portal, Dipper," He began, raising his gaze to sternly meet his descendent, who's attention was firmly locked on him, "Thirty years I was in that confounding thing. So much technological advancement was missed out on. I've made so many discoveries, only to fall off the grid for thirty years with no idea where to begin when I got back."

Dipper stared at his uncle; in a way he felt like he could relate to his uncle on an even more human level – the man had his own set of demons to deal with as well, after all. Upon coming back through that portal, he must have felt alienated, much like how Dipper had felt upon returning to Piedmont that one summer. However, at the very least Dipper had his entire family's support – he could only imagine how isolated Ford had likely felt coming back to _his_ reality with no family besides a twin brother who he hadn't spoken to in over forty years and a niece-and-nephew whom he had no previous reasoning to even believe that they had existed.

"I was able to get into brief contact with an old colleague about two years ago," He started again, raising from his chair and turning his back to the boy, "Alcoholism may have taken its toll on this man, but _damn,_ the man is a genius," He stopped momentarily to clear his throat; in a way attempting to dismiss his cursing before walking over to a desk in the far corner of the room, "About twenty years ago he developed the technology to create portals using a handheld device, meaning if I had just waited _fifteen years,_ that entire travesty could have been avoided," He paused again to lightly slam his clenched fist onto the desk, a gesture that Dipper was certain would have been harder had he not been around, "Tens of thousands of dollars invested… But I don't have the time to look back on that, my boy."

He reached into a drawer of the desk he was in front of and produced three paperback books, all held together by multiple staples. He laid them chronologically beside each other on the table and Dipper got up from his seat to go over and investigate. The completely blank covers had nothing on them except the numbers one through 3, all written in permanent marker. Dipper felt his body freeze upon laying his eyes on the books, his brain operating at a mile a minute.

It didn't take a genius like his uncle to figure it out.

What laid in front of him were the journals – or what had been recovered of them, to be exact.

"The journals." Dipper deadpanned.

"These are your copies - I want to continue my research, Dipper." Ford stated,

"…Journals." Dipper whispered in repetition.

"I want you to help me with journal number 4, my boy," Ford finalized, putting his oversized, six fingered hand on his grand nephew's back. Dipper couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him laid all of the answers, all of the truths that he had been seeking for the past five years. All he had to do was reach out and take them. He wanted to. He needed to.

But he couldn't.

As many times as he tried, he just couldn't figure out _how_ to grab them. He hadn't lost mobility, no. He just couldn't help but wonder _what happens when I open those pages._

He couldn't help but wonder if cementing those truths would grant him solace or if it would only make him feel even _more_ crazy. Besides, he had yet to see one paranormal oddity in their entire trip – and he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to keep it that way.

"Great uncle Ford," Dipper started, stepping away from his uncle for a moment so that they could be at eye level. For a brief moment he contemplated telling Ford everything, from the therapy to the nightmares. He knew that if anybody would be able to help, it would be Ford. On the contrary, he was sure that he would only cause worry; something that he did not want to bring onto his already seemingly deflated mentor, "I'd love to take your offer. It's just, we just got here," he lied, "And I'm not sure if I'm ready for all of this again," he finished, motioning toward the three journals in front of him.

There was a moment of silence from his uncle, to which Dipper blamed on deep thought, before he nodded, "Yes. Very well, my boy. I shouldn't have expected so much out of you the day you arrive – my apologies for my rash behavior," Ford apologized, chuckling at himself for being so forward with the boy, "Though if you change your mind, the journals are always here. They are your copies."

"Thanks, uncle Ford, it's just, it's been a long time, and-" Dipper began, only to be cut off by his uncle.

"Oh trust me, my boy," Ford assured, putting his hand on his future successor's shoulder, "A couple days in Gravity Falls and you'll be right where you need to be."

 **48 4f 4f 54 20 48 4f 4f 54**


End file.
